Tamperproof closure cap and container therefor

ABSTRACT

A container and screw cap closure are presented in which the cap, once installed, cannot be removed without so damaging its external rim that the damage will be visible and evident to anyone using the container and cap thereafter. In this way, a user can immediately detect any tampering with the closure with possible substitution, adulteration or contamination of the container&#39;&#39;s contents. When the user himself opens the closure cap, the cap will be damaged but the damage will not interfere with subsequent effective use of the cap to close the container. A series of one-way steps in the rim cooperate with a pair of stops on the container to permit rotation of the cap without damage as it is applied to the container but to cause tearing and other visible damage to the cap upon counter rotation of it to effect removal.

United States Patent Horvath Apr. 23, 1974 1 TAMPERPROOF CLOSURE CAP AND CONTAINER THEREFOR William Horvath, l0 Crestwood Dr., Chatham, NJ. 07060 [22] Filed: Dec. 16, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 208,590

[76] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl 215/42, 215/9, 215/46 A [51] Int. Cl B6Sd 41/20 [58] Field of Search 215/42. 46 A, 9

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3.233.769 2/1966 Jessop 215/9 3.101.856 8/1963 Whiteman. Jr. 215/9 3,249.24? 5/1966 Babiol 215/42 726,039 .4/1903 Fitzsimmons.... 215/42 2.l33.490 10/1938 Swannell 215/42 2,950,832 8/1960 Brune r 215/42 3.504.818 4/1970 Crish et a1. 215/42 Primary ExaminerWilliam T. Dixson, Jr. Assistant ExaminerStephen Marcus ABSTRACT A container and screw cap closure are presented in which the cap, once installed, cannot be removed without so damaging its external rim that the damage will be visible and evident to anyone using the container and cap thereafter. In this way, a user can immediately detect any tampering with the closure with possible substitution, adulteration or contamination of the containers contents. When the user himself opens the closure cap, the cap will be damaged but the damage will not interfere with subsequent effective use of the cap to close the container. A series of one-way steps in the rim cooperate with a pair of stops on the container to permit rotation of the cap without damage as it is applied to the container but to cause tearing and other visible damage to the cap upon counter rotation of it to effect removal.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures J'MENIEWPRZB 11W 05 9 7 William Horvafb INVENTOR.

TAMPERPROOF CLOSURE CAP AND CONTAINER THEREFOR OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION AND DISCLOSURE Many products today are sold in containers with screw caps. Typical of these products are drugs and medicines in pill, powder or liquid form wherein it is very desirable that the purchaser be assured at a glance that tampering with the product has not occurred and that he is the first person to open the container after it has been filled and capped at the factory. In addition, the purchaser expects the cap to be easy for him to use, and, that it can be used repeatedly and effectively to re-close the container.

A variety of caps and their associated containers have been presented in the art which purport to solve this problem but all have deficiencies or disadvantages in one way or another which preclude entirely satisfactory performance, fail to show easily visible tampering or are too. complex and expensive to produce. The present invention, however, provides a novel closure cap and container which meets these requirements in every respect including the fact that it is economical and inexpensive to produce and is easy to use by both the manufacturer and the purchaser.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a closure or cap for a container which will show easily visible and evident external damage to the cap as an unmistakable sign of tampering as an indication that the contents of the container may have been adulterated or contaminated or a substitution made.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a cap and container combination of the foregoing type which is capable of repeated and effective use as a closure for the container even after the initial removal of the cap.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a cap and container combination of the foregoing type which is simple and inexpensive to construct, and easy to apply to the container in the factory and easy for the purchaser to use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the written specification and drawings which follow.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional top view of the cap as it appears during the tightening process;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the cap and container with the cap shown in partial cross-section and during the tight ening process;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the upper end of the container and neck and the cap above it in position to be placed on the neck.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a container has an open-mouthed neck II which is provided with threads 12 on its exterior to which is fitted cap or closure 13 and which is provided with cooperating threads so that it may be screwed down upon neck 11. At least part of the lower periphery of screw cap 13 has an extended rim portion with ratchet teeth 14 formed into it as shown with an inclined side or face 15 and a step 16 on each tooth. The inclines 15 are in the direction of rotation of the cap 13 as it is screwed on as can be seen in FIG. 1 while the steps 16, conversely, face in the direction of rotation as the cap is unscrewed, i.e. counterclockwise in FIG. 1 in the normal manner of unscrewing a cap closure.

The ratchet teeth 14 are so proportioned and so located on the lower periphery of cap 13 that as the cap 13 bottoms on the upper rim of neck -11 one or more of the teeth 14 will have passed between lips or stops l7, 18 which protrude from the container 10 and which are also in a ratchet or saw tooth form as will be seen clearly in FIG. 1 with their inclined faces 19, 20 facing in the opposite direction from those of the teeth 14 and adapted to mate with them in sliding relationship therewith. The ends 21, .22 of lips 17, 18 are squared off as shown in order that they may intercept the steps 16 as described later in this specification.

At each end of the teeth 14 are sharp V-shaped notches 23, 24 each of which provides a stress concentration point at its apex and reduces the cross-sectional area of the material at that point to reduce the resistance to tearing of the caps rim. It is to be noted in FIG. 2 at call out 25 that the cap 13 is slit through immediately above the teeth in a circumferential direction and extended from notch 23 to notch 24.

OPERATION OF THE INVENTION At the place of packaging of the product to be contained in container 10, the product is placed therein through the open neck 11 after which cap 13 is placed on neck 1 1 and is screwed down on threads 12 until the top of cap 13 comes in contact with the upper rim of neck 11. Shortly before it makes contact, however, portion 14 of cap 13 starts to pass through the opening between lips 1 7, 18 and inclined faces 15 come in contact, at least partially, with inclined faces 19, 20. As this occurs, the slight resiliency of the plastic material from which cap 13 is made allows the tooth to be compressed to allow it to pass through the opening and to thereafter expand again to its normal size. One or more teeth 14 pass through in this fashion as determined by the relative dimensions of the cap 13 and the container 10 as the cap 13 is tightened in place. If now someone attempts to remove the cap 13 in order to tamper with the product,.he will find that when the cap 13 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction to unscrew it, the steps 16 on teeth 15 become intercepted by ends 21, 22 and rotation is prevented unless considerable rotary force is used. When such force is used, by hand in the case of a small hand held container, the shape of the teeth prevents them from being pulled back between the lips 17, 18 and the force created is transmitted through the caps rim to notches 23, 24 where structural failure and fracture of the rim will occur due to the reduced cross section at those points, the slit 25 above the teeth 14 and the stress concentration which is caused by the sharp corner of the notches apices. Failure is most likely to occur at notch 24 since that portion of the rim will be in tension. After this fracture has occurred, the cap can be removed and can be screwed back in place satisfactorily but it will be very evident that it has been unscrewed and possibly tampered with because of the torn and damaged portion 14 which either will be dangling and readily visible or torn off completely leaving ragged edges at the locations of the fractures and again being visibly evident.

After the cap has been removed in normal use, it can be screwed back in place and removed without any particular difficulty and it will close the container just as effectively from a sealing standpoint for the contents as it did before its removal but will show that the cap is no longer inviolate.

The cap is preferably made of one of the common plastic materials such as high impact styrene, polypropylene, polyethylene, tetrafluoroethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, ABS (acrylo nitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer), a semi hard rubber or the like, provided, that the material is compatible with the containers contents, is semi-resilient and is sufficiently rigid that cap 13 cannot be distorted and pulled up over the screw threads 12 or the ratchet teeth pulled up from between stops 18 and 19 to free it and thus destroy its usefulness as an indication that tampering has occurred. It is also important that the material be just resilient enough so that the teeth 14 will compressibly distort sufficiently to allow them to pass between lips l7, 18 as the cap 13 is screwed on but not sufficiently to permit them to pass in the opposite direction.

Due to the slight resiliency of these materials, and the screw on feature of the cap, an effective seal is 'provided at the top and side of neck 11 without any need for a liner or gasket in cap 13.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a container having a threaded opening and a closure therefor, the closure comprising a threaded cap adapted to be screwed onto the threaded opening and including an annular rim, teeth on the rim at least on its exterior and extended laterally outward therefrom, lips on the container oppositely disposed to one another and spaced apart to define a circularly arcuate track substantially in alignment with the circularly arcuate path through which the teeth must pass as the closure moves downward and in a rotary path as the closure is screwed down, said teeth in a saw tooth form with each tooth having an inclined face and a step, the step headed in the direction of unscrewing of the closure from the container, and the lips in corresponding saw tooth form but with each lip having its step headed in the opposite direction to the steps of the teeth, and said teeth made of semi-resilient material and narrower than the track at their narrowest point and wider than the track at their widest point but capable of sufficient resiliency to permit easy entry into and through the track as the closure is screwed on the container but to interfere with the lips of the track when the closure is screwed in the opposite direction to remove it.

2. The invention set forth in claim 1 with said teeth on both the exterior and interior of the rim of the cap.

3. The invention set forth in claim 1 with a notch in the rim adjacent to the end of the teeth and on that end in the direction of rotation for unscrewing the cap.

, 4. The invention set forth in claim 3 with a second notch at the end of the teeth in the direction of rotation of screwing on of the cap.

5. The invention set forth in claim 4 with a slit through the side of the cap above and adjacent to the teeth and circumferentially extended from notch to notch.

F I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. spun-H987 C 4- I I D n ted I April 1974 I williamHofvath Inventofls) I I It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent "and fthat said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

0n the cover sheet [76] "Chatham, N. J. 07060" should read Wa-tChung N. J. 07060 Signed and sealed this 8th day of October 1974.:

-(SEAL) Attest:

McCOY M. GIBSON JR. C. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents USCOMM-DC 60376-P59 F ORM 90-1050 (10-69) ".5 GOVERNMENT PRINYING OFFICE: o 

1. In combination, a container having a threaded opening and a closure therefor, the closure comprising a threaded cap adapted to be screwed onto the threaded opening and including an annular rim, teeth on the rim at least on its exterior and extended laterally outward therefrom, lips on the container oppositely disposed to one another and spaced apart to define a circularly arcuate track substantially in alignment with the circularly arcuate path through which the teeth must pass as the closure moves downward and in a rotary path as the closure is screwed down, said teeth in a saw tooth form with each tooth having an inclined face and a step, the step headed in the direction of unscrewing of the closure from the container, and the lips in corresponding saw tooth form but with each lip having its step headed in the opposite direction to the steps of the teeth, and said teeth made of semi-resilient material and narrower than the track at their narrowest point and wider than the track at their widest point but capable of sufficient resiliency to permit easy entry into and through the track as the closure is screwed on the container but to interfere with the lips of the track when the closure is screwed in the opposite direction to remove it.
 2. The invention set forth in claim 1 with said teeth on both the exterior and interior of the rim of the cap.
 3. The invention set forth in claim 1 with a notch in the rim adjacent to the end of the teeth and on that end in the direction of rotation for unscrewing the cap.
 4. The invention set forth in claim 3 with a second notch at the end of the teeth in the direction of rotation of screwing on of the cap.
 5. The invention set forth in claim 4 with a slit through the side of the cap above and adjacent to the teeth and circumferentially extended from notch to notch. 